Made For You

Discover all three nines at Callawassie Island through the benefits of the double tee start, and master 27 holes of championship golf.

There are a thousand things that set Callawassie’s Tom Fazio designed courses apart among the great fairways of the lowcountry.

• The balance of nature in which they’re situated, dropping elevated architecture and maintenance in the midst of an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
• The connection to community in an exclusive member-owned ambience, where “everyone is a neighbor.”
• The warmth of home, immersed in carefully curated and recently renovated play, all right here in the heart of the lowcountry.

But one of the most unique elements of the Callawassie Island equation allows players to unlock more tee-times and customize their game while they discover all three nines. With “Double Tee Start,” it’s almost new play every day.

Former Golf & Greens committee chair Chris Rape explains the benefits of the three nines to members as a member and as one who’s walked the course throughout the renovation process alongside Agronomy Director Billy Bagwell and his celebrated team.

Why Three Nines
This model of management and construction lends itself to near constant availability for booking tee-times and adds an incredible flexibility of options for guests to (literally) call their own shots. Fully booked blocks are nearly a thing of the past with 27 holes divided among three distinctive courses that allow for full games or a quick 9.

How It Works:
“How we manage it,” explains Rape, “is, say you have two groups tee off at 8 a.m., they’re using 2 holes instead of all 18, they’ll turn onto the second 9 as the two groups switch. Plus, we have a tee-time interval of 10 minutes which offers better pacing for groups on each course. You can group any two courses for an 18hole round or rotate through all three for all 27.”

Callawassie Island’s three distinct nine-hole courses – Dogwood, Magnolia, and Palmetto – each loop back towards the clubhouse in yet another nod to the integrated sense of community and member-focused convenience you find at every turn. “You can choose just the half – 9 holes – because of how we rotate,” Rape reminds, “as it adds an incredible efficiency and smoothness to move more people through more fluidly, all while creating more of a sense of space so you don’t feel chased down by the next group.”

Design Your 9s

1. The Full Experience: Start the Morning on Magnolia, take the turn onto Palmetto, and follow the water to finish the day on Dogwood.
2. Quick Fix: Book a 9-hole outing or customize your 18 for the day.
3. Shuffle the Combo: Book a two-nines round then mix it up next time and come at it from another angle (or challenge your wins by taking a different swing at it).

Better Any Way You Count It

Tee-times and how you run the 9s are a prominent and unique benefit, but that’s just the bones of a whole structure of member benefits, many of them recently introduced or overhauled by a team that knows every inch of the property, and how to turn it into magic.

The last three years have been poured into perfecting every element that could affect the game or the personal experience. One of the biggest challenges and successes in that process, especially for an area like the coastal southeast, are the advances in drainage.

Bagwell, who headed the initiative, including its launch, celebrates, “Our membership really benefits from the success of this project. Where they used to experience many days in a row of cart path only conditions after rain events, now we can sometimes get people off the path again in a matter of hours. We also are able to maintain a firmer playing surface, which allows the golf ball to roll further.”

That’s feedback that was front-of-mind from both Bagwell and Rape regarding residents. Rape says, “The biggest satisfaction over the last three years of seeing this come to life is hearing members when they play the rejuvenated course say how much they could really enjoy the game with fewer setbacks. They always say they don’t know why or can’t put a finger on it but enjoyed it more. It’s just more playable.”

“Comments like ‘I haven’t been able to hit the ball this far in 10 years’ have been common since opening from the project,” says Bagwell, who’s lead this project from a people-driven perspective since the start, “The bunker reconstruction has provided more reliable, consistent playing conditions for the membership and following rain events we don’t we no longer have to repair washouts from erosion from rainfall.”

“Yesterday afternoon we got an inch and a half of rain,” says Rape, “and by 5:30, I’m out walking the course and it’s completely playable with almost no sense of the storm.” Walking the course, by the way, is just another way to take in the beauty, simplicity, perfection, and personal experience of Callawassie Islands full 27.

Find Your Way to Play

The head and heart of Callawassie Island Golf’s new directions, Bagwell says, “I think the most rewarding part for me was seeing how passionate and bought into the project’s success our team was. The agronomy team from day one was up for the challenge and excited about the opportunity we had to take Callawassie Island to the next level. Now to drive around the completed project and hear how excited and proud the membership is of the golf course now, is rewarding for me and my team.  We wanted to provide a golf course that its membership can be proud of and excited to show off to their friends and guests, and I think we accomplished that.”

There’s no question, and you can discover that yourself in a pick your passion approach to the game, thanks to the island’s three nines, “whether you’re a low-handicap golfer,” adds Rape, “or one of the players at the recent USAM Qualifier.”

A single swing through the peaceful paths of Dogwood, squaring off to flaunt your skirmishing skills on Palmetto, powering through the magnificence of Magnolia, or putting your nines together, Callawassie Island courses – form original design to inspired renovations – was literally made for you.